Official Verbal Ability thread for CAT 2013

MBA CAT 2022
101
@pavimai said:
Scrape; pick out the Incorrect usage(a) Bringing up that minor legal point proves that you €™re scraping the bottom of the barrel.(b) I might scrape out the exam if I €™m lucky.(c) After many attempts he managed to scrape into an Ivy League college.(d) Her parents were able to scrape up the money to send their daughter to an international business schools
d.
correct= scrap together the money
102

I will post some stuff that will increase our command over English language.

Point to be kept in mind #1 :

Disinterested = unbiased
E.g. : The referee gave the disinterested decision

Uninterested = boring
E.g.: Seema feels uninterested in watching cricket.

103

Point to be kept in mind #2 :

feelings for / feelings about

When someone says “I'm developing feelings for you,” the message is “I'm fallingin love with you.”
Feelings for are always positive feelings.

In contrast, feelings about something or someone can be either positive or negative: “I've got a bad feeling about this.”

104

Rajani is a beauty


An abstract noun can also be used as a common noun by placing a article before it.

P.S- The name of a quality,state of mind,or stage of life is called as abstact noun.
eg-Kindness childhood
105

Point to be kept in mind #3 :

Either is / either are

As a subject, “either” is singular. It's the opposite of “both,” and refers to one at a time:
“Either ketchup or mustard is good ona hot dog.”
But if “either” is modifying a subject in an “either . . . or” phrase, then the number of the verb is determined by thbe number of the second noun:
“Either the puppy or the twins seem to need my attention every other minute.”

106
@ankurkapruwan said:
It is 14 yrs since I___________ him .a) saw b) had seen...........also mention the rule puys
a) I'm not aware of the rules but go by my intuition but i think it would be better if the sentence is modified to since I last saw him.

for b I think it should since I have seen him.

what is the OA?
107

Point to be kept in mind #4

doubt that / doubt whether

If you really doubt that something is true (suspect that it's false), use “doubt that”: “I doubt that Fred has really lost 25 pounds.”
If you want to express uncertainty, use “whether”: “I doubt whether we'll see the comet if the clouds don't clear soon.”
108
@ankurkapruwan said:
It is 14 yrs since I___________ him .a) saw b) had seen...........also mention the rule puys
since i have seen him

since takes present tense i think :)
109
SET (9)


336.
A.It can safely be assumed that the same large proportion is true of the population generally.
B.Seventy five percent listed lack of confidence.
C.The students were asked to state their most difficult problems.
D.In a university, a survey was made of six hundred students in a pshychology course.
E.Lack of self-confidence apparently is one of the greatest problems besetting people today.
1.ABCDE 2.AEDCB 3.EABCD 4.EDCBA


337.
A.Boys and girls are sent to diff schools and colleges.
B.The Indian traditions are age-old.
C.In the primary schools in India, boys and girls may read together in childhood.
D.Indian boys and girls have always been taught to remain seperate when they grow up.
E.But as they grow up they are not allowed to mis with each other.
1.DECAB 2.ACDEB 3.BDCEA 4.BDCAE


338.
1.Manufacturing activities provide for a relatively simple method of assessing an appropriate level of compensation for work.
A.Another part is engaged in actual delivery of the services.
B.The same does not apply for service activities, and the least of all administrative tasks.
C.Within the services sector, a part of the man power complement is engaged in functions of housekeeping or maintaining the establishment.
D.If and old fashioned concept in economics were to be dredged up, the former would be the unproductive segment.
6.The characterisation is extremely fallible since in most cases the productive segment of the work force would not be able to fulfill their function.
1.ABCD 2.BACD 3.BCAD 4.BDCA


339.
1.Madhya Pradesh social worker and anti-corruption campaigner Abhishek Chakrabarthy recently reitereated he would ensure that corrupt politicians will not hijack his party.
A.For instance, at the last halt, he addressed a public meeting in Jabalpur which was attended by over 10000 people.
B.On the platform were Abhishek 's advisors and supporters.
C.The announcement came after his tour of the state and was clearly a reference to frequent occasions on which political parites used his platform for their purposes during the tour.
D.They included a former IAS officer who was the personal secretary to the chief minister.
6.There was also Kapil Patil who used to edit the popular Dainik Bhaskar.
1.ABCD 2.DCAB 3.CBAD 4.CABD


340.
1.This is the high noon of the age of sponsorship.
A.Even the daily weather report is .
B.For several years now, we have become used to all kinds of events being sponsored.
C.In many newspapers , every possible feature barring the editorial is sponsored.
D.Student organisations now find corporate sponsors and get mass media exposure for such events.
6.Maihar, the annual college fest held at St. Xavier's College in Mumbai is one such.
1.ABDC 2.BCAD 3.DCAB 4.DCBA


Happy CATing


110

Puys Don't forget to mention SET numbers

Good Luck
111

@miseera

SET 9

336 >4

337 >3

338 >3

339 >4

340 >2

do tag me while posting OA...:)

112
@miseera said:
SET (9)

336 - 4
337 - 3
338 ,339,340- 1 baar chk krna thk se copy hua hai . i think kuch gadbad ho gyi hai
113
@karan20 said:
@miseeraSET 9336 >4337 >3338 >3339 >4340 >2do tag me while posting OA...

how u solved 338-340 ??

i see one extra sentence tagged "6" ..
114
READING COMPREHENSION:

will test your ability to 1) summarize the main idea of the passage
2) Understand logical relationships between facts and concepts
3) Make inferences based on the idea
4) Analyze the logical structure of the passage
5) Deduce the author's tone and attitude towards the topic
Basic principles:
● Look at the topic and the scope of the passage
● Get the gist of each paragraph and its structural role in the passage
● Look for opinions, theories, and points of view of the author
● Don't obsess over details

TOPIC AND SCOPE:
Think of the topic as the first idea that comes along. Almost always, it will be right there
in the first sentence.

For example,
The great migration of European intellectuals to the United States in the second quarter
of the 20th century prompted a transmutation in the character of Western social thought.
TOPIC here is about the migration of European intellectuals to the US in the second
quarter of the 20th century. It would be okay to say that the topic is about the effects of
that migration on Western social thought. You just need a fair idea of what the passage is
talking about.
SCOPE is the narrowing of the topic. Any CAT passage will focus upon a theme.
Here, the scope may be “some of the effects of that migration on the Western social
thought”. It may be more specific too: “One aspect of thought affected by migration”.
Or something unexpected might come along. Will the author compare two different
migrations? Or contrast two different effects? We need to think critically about what's
coming and look for clues in the text that let us know on what specific subject(s) the
author intends to focus.
GIST OF EACH PARAGRAPH and ITS STRUCTURAL ROLE IN THE PASSAGE:
Always read the first paragraph slowly to get the topic and the scope. As you go along,
you need to ask yourself:
Why did the author include this paragraph? What shift did the author make when moving
on to this para? What's discussed here that is different from first para? What bearing does this para have on the author's main idea? What role do the details play?
Don't ask yourself, “what does this mean?”..Ask yourself, “Why is this here?”
The Burgess shale highly yielded a surprising varied array of fossils. Early chordates
were very rare, but there were prodigious amounts of complex forms not seen since.
Hallucigenia, so named for a structure so bizarre that scientists did not know which was
the dorsal and which the ventral side, had fourteen legs. Opabinia had five eyes and a
long proboscis. This amazing diversity led Gould to believe that it was highly unlikely
that the eventual success of chordates was a predictable outcome.

● “The Burgess shale highly yielded a surprising varied array of fossils”
Okay, The Burgess shale had a lot of different kinds of fossils.
● Early chordates were very rare, but there were prodigious amounts of complex
forms not seen since. Hallucigenia, so named for a structure so bizarre that
scientists did not know which was the dorsal and which the ventral side, had
fourteen legs. Opabinia had five eyes and a long proboscis.
This is just a variety of fossils and the details about them. Not a lot of chordates,
whatever they are, but a lot of other stuff.
● This amazing diversity led Gould to believe that it was highly unlikely that the
eventual success of chordates was a predictable outcome.
We know now why these annoying details are there. They are the facts that led Gould
to the belief that it was highly unlikely that the eventual success of chordates was a
predictable outcome.
So our noteboard will say something like this: “Evidence for Gould's belief - chordate
success not predictable”
Doing this for every paragraph allows you to create a map of the passage's overall
structure.
LOOK FOR OPINIONS, THEORIES, and POINTS OF VIEW OF THE AUTHOR:
One always has to distinguish between factual assertions and opinions/interpretations.
“The coral polyps secrete calceous exoskeletons, which cement themselves into an
underlayer of rock, while the algae deposit still more calcium carbonate, which reacts with
sea salt to create an even tougher limestone layer. All of this accounts for the amazing
renewability of coral reefs despite the endless erosion caused by wave activity.
In a sense, this one is similar to the Burgess Shale para. It begins with
a lot of scientific jargon and tells us why the jargon is there. But notice here, that there is a big difference. Here, the author does not tell us how
someone else interprets these facts. This is author's own interpretation.
It is important to differentiate between author's own voice and other
people's opinions. So the author of the Burgess shale para may well
disagree with the scientist's interpretation in the next para. But in this
coral reef para, the author definitely thinks that coral polyps and algae are
responsible for the renewability of coral reefs.
Spotting the opinions and theories also helps you to accomplish the goal of
reading for structure. Once you spot an idea, you can step back from the
barrage of words and attack the passage by critically saying, “Where is the
support for this idea? Does the author agree? Disagree?”
Consider this passage:

“Abraham Lincoln is traditionally viewed as an advocate of freedom
because he issued the emancipation proclamation and championed
the thirteenth Amendment, which ended the legal slavery in US. And
indeed this achievement cannot be denied. But he also set uncomfortable
precedents for the curtailing of civil liberties.”
A critical reader would follow in this fashion:
“traditionally viewed” tells me that people usually thought about Lincoln
in a certain way. But the author might not completely agree. I see that
she brings up the fact that he restricted civil liberties. And the word
uncomfortable is a pretty big sign that the author is not at all pleased
with Lincoln because of it. I should also note here that, “and indeed this
achievement cannot be denied” shows that she won't go so far as to say
that Lincoln was an enemy of freedom.
The reader now may continue by saying that he knows the full context of
the passage. He knows that the author will have to include a para on the
precedents and how they restricted civil liberties. One more possibility
here might be, that the author might describe how later Presidents used
Lincoln's actions as a justification for their own restrictions.
Now we can answer some of the questions:
What is the main idea of the passage?
A. The Emancipation proclamation had both positive and negative effects.
B. Lincoln's Presidency laid the groundwork for future restrictions of
personal freedom
C. The traditional image of Lincoln as a national hero must be overturned.
D. Abraham used military pressure to influence state legistlatures.
E. Lincoln was an advocate of freedom
A is eliminated as it is a distortion of the first and third sentences. C is too
extreme. D is out of scope. E misses the author's big point
B is the correct choice
DO NOT OBSESS OVER THE DETAILS:
Obsessing over the details will be a time waster! Consider this passage:
The coral polyps secrete calceous exoskeletons, which cement themselves into an
underlayer of rock, while the algae deposit still more calcium carbonate, which reacts with
sea salt to create an even tougher limestone layer. All of this accounts for the amazing
renewability of coral reefs despite the endless erosion caused by wave activity.
This is highly factual!
A great trick would be to cut through confusing, detail-laden sentences:
focus on the subjects and the verbs first, throwing away modifying
phrases. Don't worry about confusing terminology.
Coral polyps secrete something..and algae deposit something to create
something. This accounts for the amazing renewability of coral reefs.
I hope it'll help 😃
115
@hiteshpratap said:

how u solved 338-340 ??

i see one extra sentence tagged "6" ..
bhai... in dis SETS, sentence 1 & 6 are fixed.... u have to arrange balance 4 ( ABCD )
116

@karan20 said:
bhai... in dis SETS, sentence 1 & 6 are fixed.... u have to arrange balance 4 ( ABCD )


and i thought ... khair chodo...
117
@hiteshpratap said:
how u solved 338-340 ??i see one extra sentence tagged "6" ..
Watch carefully
118
@miseera said:
SET (9) 336.A.It can safely be assumed that the same large proportion is true of the population generally.B.Seventy five percent listed lack of confidence.C.The students were asked to state their most difficult problems.D.In a university, a survey was made of six hundred students in a pshychology course.E.Lack of self-confidence apparently is one of the greatest problems besetting people today.1.ABCDE 2.AEDCB 3.EABCD 4.EDCBA337.A.Boys and girls are sent to diff schools and colleges.B.The Indian traditions are age-old.C.In the primary schools in India, boys and girls may read together in childhood.D.Indian boys and girls have always been taught to remain seperate when they grow up.E.But as they grow up they are not allowed to mis with each other.1.DECAB 2.ACDEB 3.BDCEA 4.BDCAE338.1.Manufacturing activities provide for a relatively simple method of assessing an appropriate level of compensation for work.A.Another part is engaged in actual delivery of the services.B.The same does not apply for service activities, and the least of all administrative tasks.C.Within the services sector, a part of the man power complement is engaged in functions of housekeeping or maintaining the establishment.D.If and old fashioned concept in economics were to be dredged up, the former would be the unproductive segment.6.The characterisation is extremely fallible since in most cases the productive segment of the work force would not be able to fulfill their function.1.ABCD 2.BACD 3.BCAD 4.BDCA339.1.Madhya Pradesh social worker and anti-corruption campaigner Abhishek Chakrabarthy recently reitereated he would ensure that corrupt politicians will not hijack his party.A.For instance, at the last halt, he addressed a public meeting in Jabalpur which was attended by over 10000 people.B.On the platform were Abhishek 's advisors and supporters.C.The announcement came after his tour of the state and was clearly a reference to frequent occasions on which political parites used his platform for their purposes during the tour.D.They included a former IAS officer who was the personal secretary to the chief minister.6.There was also Kapil Patil who used to edit the popular Dainik Bhaskar.1.ABCD 2.DCAB 3.CBAD 4.CABD340.1.This is the high noon of the age of sponsorship.A.Even the daily weather report is .B.For several years now, we have become used to all kinds of events being sponsored.C.In many newspapers , every possible feature barring the editorial is sponsored.D.Student organisations now find corporate sponsors and get mass media exposure for such events.6.Maihar, the annual college fest held at St. Xavier's College in Mumbai is one such.1.ABDC 2.BCAD 3.DCAB 4.DCBAHappy CATing
4,3,3,4,3...pls tag me with answers!!
119
@miseera said:
SET (9) 336.A.It can safely be assumed that the same large proportion is true of the population generally.B.Seventy five percent listed lack of confidence.C.The students were asked to state their most difficult problems.D.In a university, a survey was made of six hundred students in a pshychology course.E.Lack of self-confidence apparently is one of the greatest problems besetting people today.1.ABCDE 2.AEDCB 3.EABCD 4.EDCBA



4.EDCBA
120
The paragraph given below is followed by a question. Choose the most appropriate answer to the question.
Since children consistently imitate the behaviors they see on TV, continued exposure to aggressive programs will cause more children to consider aggression as an acceptable way of solving problems.In order to promote a peaceful society, the government should ban the broadcast of aggressive programs.
Which of the following is most similar in logical structure to the paragraph?
(a) A mother in a family insists that a father not smoke in front of his children so that they don €™t pick
up the habit.
(b) A father bans his teenage girl from watching television soaps after she is involved in a series of
bickering sessions with her classmates.
(c) A mother hides the jar of candy she usually keeps on her kitchen shelf in order to prevent her
children from gorging on it and ruining their lunch.
(d) A tour guide does not reveal to his clients the location of the town €™s best souvenir shop because
he has been upbraided by the shop €™s owners for sending in too large a crowd